The Social Sciences Are in Trouble
The National Science Foundation's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences division faces significant budget cuts under the Trump administration. Proposed changes include halving the NSF's budget and eliminating the SBE division, which funds a majority of social science research. Experts warn that these cuts could severely impact the understanding of American life and research in critical social science fields.
- ▪The Trump administration has proposed drastic budget cuts to the National Science Foundation, particularly targeting the SBE division.
- ▪The SBE division's research budget for the current fiscal year is two-thirds smaller than last year's, leading to a significant reduction in funding awards.
- ▪Social scientists are alarmed by the potential elimination of the SBE division, which is crucial for funding various social science research areas.
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ScienceThe Social Sciences Are in TroubleThe National Science Foundation division the covers social, behavioral, and economic sciences is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.By Hana KirosIllustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.May 30, 2026, 9:10 AM ET ShareSave In the summer of 1945, four days after Japan’s official surrender and a few weeks into the Atomic Age, President Harry Truman began floating the idea of an agency guided by “the free intelligence of the scientist” that would fund investigations into how the world works. As of 2024, the agency that Truman had envisioned, the National Science Foundation, supplied about one in every 10 federal research dollars going to U.S. universities.
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